iConnect Imperial brings discounts to community

8 March 2011

At the end of January, students donned www.iconnectimperial.com T-shirts and handed out leaflets and free oyster card holders to staff and students on the South Kensington Campus to promote their new group-buying website. The website offers staff and students 20-50 per cent discounts mainly at restaurants and cafes in the South Kensington area.Final year Chemical Engineering and Chemcial Technology student, Nigel Kheng, who co-founded the website and is also the President of Imperial’s Innovation Society, tells Reporter about the idea:

“iConnect is a project started by the Innovation Society. The idea is simple: if there are enough people willing to purchase the same product, it can be much much cheaper. For example, you can get a 50 per cent discount for a theatre ticket if a group of at least 10 people go together, but organising can be a hassle. Through our website, the group from Imperial is formed virtually, so everyone gets the discount without the need to form our own groups.

As well as giving lots of discounts to the Imperial community, the website also gives local businesses the opportunity to reach out to staff and students. All profits go to the Prince’s Trust charity, which helps young people in difficult situations to build meaningful lives.”